Tough Decisions
by Musical Sunrise
Summary: Life once again gets turned upside-down for the Suoh family when Yuzuru discovers that his ex-wife has a son, and that it's his. Post-manga.
1. A Dilemma Arises

**Series: Ouran High School Host Club**

**Mangaka: Bisco Hatori**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. No one would believe me even if I claimed to.**

**May contain Spoilers.**

**Some details have been altered for my own convenience.**

**This story is based post-manga.**

**Chapter One: A Dilemma Arises**

Yuzuru Suoh sat in his office with the light off, the lack of light casting a blue-black hue over everything. That suited his mood at the moment, as he stared at the paper lying on the desk before him. It looked so innocent, but that was really very misguiding. This information on this paper had the power to change his life forever, depending on what he did about it. The thing was, he wasn't sure what he was going to do about it, and what would happen depending on what he did. Humans lacked the ability to foretell the future after all.

He really didn't need this sort of thing to happen right now. His life had finally become all sorted out. Everything concerning his mother, Tamaki, Anne-Sophie, and the company had finally been solved. Now something like this had to come up? That was becoming a trend in his life. What was wrong with him wanting to live a peaceful, happy life with his family? But it seemed he'd had another family member, one he had never known about, all along. And now he was expected to do something about it.

Why had she picked now of all times to contact him? In her letter, she said it was because the boy was legally an adult now, and had the right to decide what he wanted. That could be having his father -who Yuzuru had just discovered was himself- in his life, or having him out of it. She had also decided that Yuzuru had the right to know about his son, and that it was about time that they meet. He had never known he had another son. That the woman he'd divorced so that he could marry Anne-Sophie had actually been pregnant when he'd done so. She claimed that she herself hadn't known that she was pregnant until two months after this, and had opted into keeping quiet about it. He could guess why. After all, she was the ex-wife, dropped for another woman. She had every right to be bitter. Though she claimed that that wasn't what this was about. She said this was about her son.

He sighed and rubbed his temples with one hand, suddenly feeling much older than his years. This would definitely start another scandal, if anyone were to find out about it. Hadn't he already caused enough scandals for the Suoh family? His mother likely wouldn't forgive him this time if he started another. As it was, things were still stiff between them. And how would he explain something like this to Tamaki and Anne-Sophie? Would they be angry with him? He didn't want to cause any more problems for his precious family, or cause them to hate him.

There was always the option to do nothing, but how could he? This person was supposedly his son. There was his blood running through the boy's veins. Or so Noriko claimed. Either way, a DNA test would tell for certain. In order to do that, though, he'd have to commit to the results. Whatever they may be. He didn't want to have to make a decision like this.

With another heavy sigh, he reached towards the paper, the rather formal letter from his ex-wife, and pulled out a photo from underneath it. She'd sent a photo of the boy. He couldn't say he looked much like him, but he definitely looked like his mother. Fluffy, curly black hair and deep brown eyes. Though when Yuzuru looked closely, the set of his jaw and eyes somehow reminded him of Tamaki. This boy didn't look nearly as soft as Tamaki, though, and he was shorter. There was a bit of a coarseness about him, an edge. Yuzuru wasn't sure what it was that gave him this impression. Oh, had Noriko included the boy's name? He couldn't remember. He'd been too overcome by shock to even wonder about it.

He reached for the paper again, and picked it up. He scanned it for any sign of the boy's name. It wasn't mentioned. Yuzuru frowned at that. Why wouldn't she mention the boy's name? That was odd. Maybe she hadn't thought of it? Or maybe she _was_ bitter. He'd have to commit to this if he wanted to find out his name, eh? How sneaky. He put the paper down again.

The question of Tamaki was raised again in his mind. It was him Yuzuru was worried most about for all this. How would Tamaki feel if he mentioned this? If he were to discover he may have a brother out there? Well, knowing Tamaki, he'd probably be excited at the prospect of a sibling and want to meet him, but would also be very nervous about it because of the circumstances. What if the two met, and didn't get along? What if the boy didn't like Tamaki? What if the boy didn't like _him? He wasn't sure he'd be able to back out of it after getting himself involved. So the decision had to be made now. But he still wasn't sure which decision to make._


	2. Making A Choice

Series: Ouran High School Host Club

Mangaka: Bisco Hatori

Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. No one would believe me even if I claimed to.

May contain Spoilers.

Some details have been altered for my own convenience.

This story is based post-manga.

Chapter Two: Making A Choice

The next day, Yuzuru had come to his decision. It had been a wise choice to leave the decision until the next day, since having a full night to mull it over made a world of difference. Of course, that meant that he didn't get much sleep, and he was exhausted. Despite this, what had to be done had to be done. So Yuzuru called a family meeting of Anne-Sophie, Tamaki, and his own mother. They had the right to know of this new event going on in his life, and to participate in the decision. He wasn't cowardly pushing the decision onto someone else. After all, the choice he made in this matter would affect all of them. They should at least have a say in what would happen. And besides, maybe bouncing ideas around would give him some things to chew that he hadn't considered before.

So they all gathered in one of the main Suoh mansion's lavish sitting room. Yuzuru sat in a comfortable armchair, Anne-Sophie and Tamaki sitting in a loveseat to his left, and his mother sitting, rather stiffly, on a couch across from them to his right. She was still upset with him for having gone behind her back and thrown her out of the company last year, but had recovered from her shock and depression, and was now willing to tolerate having him -and Anne-Sophie, it seemed- around.

All were watching him rather curiously, having no idea why he'd gathered them here. Anne-Sophie and Tamaki both looked a little worried, and his mother was giving him an oh-you-better-not-have-screwed-up-_again_ look. All that was left was to tell them what was on his mind. Not an easy feat. He found himself completely at a loss for words, and stared at his hands for a moment in order to gather his thoughts, an action he knew worried his wife and son even more.

Finally, he took a deep breath, and began bravely. "Well, I'm sure you're all wondering why I've-"

"Oh, just say it, whatever it is, Yuzuru. I really don't want to sit here while you work your way up to your point." His mother interrupted tartly. She was not pleased, he could tell, and she knew whatever it was, it had to be bad news. She'd rather hear it flat-out than beat around the bush for all of eternity.

"Very well, mother." He sighed. He pulled out the letter, passing it to her. "I suppose the quickest way, which is no doubt what you want, is to have you read this.

He watched her face as she read, waiting to see her reaction. Tamaki and Anne-Sophie were also watching her, very curious and bewildered, and hoping to guess from her reaction how worried they should be. Anne-Sophie, noticing her son's anxiety, reached out and patted his hand, giving him a smile when he looked at her. He gave her a grateful smile in response, and held her hand.

Yuzuru's attention was completely on his mother, watching as her lips pursed and jaw set a little as she read. Other than that, she was as calm, collected, and relatively expressionless as usual. After what felt like an eternity, she finally lowered the letter, calmly setting it on her lap and folding her hands overtop of it. Well, exploding out in rage had never been something that was part of her personality, but still, he'd expecting a little more of a stronger reaction.

"So, that woman was pregnant." She said slowly. He nodded in response, and Tamaki and Anne-Sophie looked between them both with even more bewilderment than before. "Well, that's a bit of a shock. It seems she didn't know herself when she divorced you. But to think you'd have another son somewhere, that's surprising."

Anne-Sophie and Tamaki, finally seeming to realize what was going on, took on rather comical shocked expressions with their mouths hanging open. When she had overcome her shock enough to speak, Anne-Sophie turned to Yuzuru and asked "So, is this about the woman you were married to before because of your prior arranged marriage?" She asked, looking at him worriedly. "The one you divorced when I got pregnant with Tamaki?"

He met her eyes and smiled wearily. "Yes, that's right, Anne. It seems that she was pregnant when I divorced her. She herself didn't know about the pregnancy until after we had been divorced for months, and I assume for her own reason, she kept quiet about it." He told her.

"Are we certain that the child is yours?" His mother asked, watching him closely.

He had been expecting this question, of course. It was a question that had occurred to him as well, after all. "No, we do not know for certain. However, it only takes a DNA test to find out." He said. "She enclosed a picture, but she left out the boy's name." He handed his mother the picture, which she examined for a moment.

"Hm, he's quite nice-looking, I suppose. Quite long hair though. He looks nothing like you." Was all the had to say on the matter, and laid it down on her lap on top of the letter.

"Um." Tamaki said uncertainly, drawing both of their attention to him. "If it's alright… Could I please see it as well?" He asked nervously, his eyes on the picture in his grandmother's lap. It was shocking news, that he had a brother. But he was also kind of excited. What kind of person was he? Was he nice? He wanted to see what he looked like, at the very least.

Yuzuru didn't answer, not being in possession of the picture. It would be the grandmother's choice whether to hand over the photo or not. She eyed Tamaki for a moment, then held it up in offering. Tamaki's face lit up and he stood up to retrieve it. "Thank you very much, Grandmother!" He said happily, going back to sit down.

The conversation continued around him as he examined the person in the picture, his supposed brother. Grandmother was right. The boy looked nothing like himself or his father. Nonetheless, he was a beautiful boy, with softly curling, long black hair that fell down past his shoulders and around his hips. Thick eyelashes framed eyes that were the colour of melted dark chocolate, a colour several shades darker than Haruhi's eyes. His eyes were more… pointed seemed to be the right word. They looked somewhat cat-like. These, paired with the ghost of a smirk tugging around the boy's lips, gave him more of a mischievous appearance. It was hard to tell exactly how tall he was, since there were no points of comparison in the picture, but he didn't look as tall as he was. But he didn't seem smaller either. And he was slender, without necessarily seeming fragile. He didn't seem quite real, almost dreamlike, but that could also be attributed to the lighting in the picture.

He felt the excitement bubble up. He wanted to meet this person. He wanted to know what he was like. He had a brother! Kyouya, Honey-sempai, Mori-sempai, and obviously Hikaru and Kaoru, all had brothers. He'd seen their different interactions. Kyouya and his brother's were fairly indifferent to each other, not close in the slightest, but used each other as prompts to push themselves forward. Yasuchika thought Honey-sempai was an alien, creepy, and a disappointment. Satoshi idolized Mori-sempai, and Hikaru and Kaoru had once been so dependent on one another that they blocked out the rest of the world. It made Tamaki wonder what sort of relationship he and this person in the picture would have. He hoped they would like each other. It would be awful if they detested on another.

Wait… What if this person already detested him? After all, his father- _their _father, had left this person's mother in order to marry Tamaki's. If his mother was bitter against them, would those feelings carry over to her child? Would he resent Tamaki for being part of the reason for that bitterness? Tamaki felt panicked. Now he really had to meet this person, to determine whether or not there was resentment, or bitterness, and to see if they could become family. Sure, they'd been born brothers. But they'd never met before. So right now they weren't part of one another's family. But Tamaki wanted to be. He wanted to be part of this boy's family.

"Father, I want to meet him." He said, looking up at his father with all the confidence in his decision. He wouldn't back out.

Yuzuru and his mother, their conversation interrupted, stared at him a moment. Finally, Yuzuru sighed and rubbed his hand through his hair. "Very well." He consented. "I suppose that's the best course of action, right? We can't leave things unknown. I will contact Noriko."

And that was the start of everything.

* * *

**Hahaha! I have figured out how to edit these things after they're uploaded! I figured out how to do it once, but then forgot how. But I've managed to do it! For those who've noticed errors in some recent stories relating to iltalicizing or bolding, this was why. But I've figured it out now, so it's all good.**

**I couldn't remember if the manga ever told us Tamaki's Grandmother's name. That made writing this chapter a bit more difficult, since I wanted to be specific about who I was talking about, and didn't want anyone to think I was talking about Tamaki's mother when I was talking about Yuzuru's mother. So confusing. Anyway, thanks for reading!**

**P.S. Since the woman's name is never mentioned, I have named her Noriko. But you've probably already known that.**


	3. Making Contact

**Series: Ouran High School Host Club**

**Mangaka: Bisco Hatori**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. No one would believe me even if I claimed to.**

**May contain Spoilers.**

**Some details have been altered for my own convenience.**

**This story is based post-manga.**

Chapter Three: Making Contact

Remarkably, the former President of the Suoh Company, Yuzuru's mother, had agreed to let them make contact with Noriko and her son. She said that Yuzuru had caused so much trouble for them already, causing more trouble would hardly matter. This had made Yuzuru smile. It was true enough. The scandals of him cheating with a Frenchwoman, bringing an illegitimate child into the world, divorcing his wife, the woman falling ill, bringing Tamaki to France while leaving Anne-Sophie behind, unseating the President of the Suoh Company -outmanoeuvring his own mother-, finally bringing Anne-Sophie to Japan, etc, had spanned all of Tamaki's life. Creating another would hardly matter, right?

Still, making that phone call was going to be extremely nerve-wracking. After all, he hadn't spoken to the woman in nineteen years. It wasn't that they'd gotten along horribly when they were married, they just didn't love each other. And he knew she had also had an affair while she was married to him. That was one of the things that added doubt to whether the child was really his or not. How did she know that it was not the child of the man she'd been having an affair with?

Well, he would find out when he called her, wouldn't he? Taking a deep breath to brace himself, he picked up the phone as well as the piece of paper, and carefully punched in the number written there.

…_Ring…Ring…Ring…_

"_Hello?"_

Yuzuru froze for a moment, thrown by the fact that it was a young male voice that had answered and not the voice of his ex-wife.

"_Hello?"_

"Hello, is Noriko Suoh there?" He said, trying to sound calm and fumbling a little.

"_Ah, no. She went out an hour ago. She should be back in about five minutes though. Do you want to wait?"_

The voice was calm, assured. There was a bit of a whispery sound attached to the ends of his words, somewhat like a lisp, but not nearly pronounced enough to be called as such.

"Oh, I see." Yuzuru replied. His heart was beating quite fast. Could he possibly be talking to…? "May I ask who I am speaking to?" He held his breath, waiting for a reply.

"_Mamoru."_

A simple, blunt answer. He assumed that the surname had been left off because it was the same as Noriko's. So he could be the boy in the picture.

"If you don't mind my asking, how old are you Mamoru?" If this was the child, his age would be the same as Tamaki's. That was the only way it would make sense. Though he supposed Mamoru would be at least a few months older than Tamaki. Exactly how many, he wasn't sure.

"…_I'm nineteen…" _

This time the voice was wary, but not guarded or unfriendly. He was probably wondering why in the world this stranger wanted to know his age. He probably thought Yuzuru was some kind of phone pervert. But then again, he had asked to speak to Mamoru's mother originally, so that might deter him from that train of thought.

But it turned out he was the same age as Tamaki. So it was highly possible that this Mamoru was the son Noriko had written to him about. It was hard to believe that he was actually on the other end of the line as the boy.

"_Oh, mom's home. Do you want to talk to her?"_

Yuzuru blinked, and looked at his watch. It had indeed been five minutes. "Yes, please." He said into the receiver. "Thank you."

"_Uh huh. Just a moment." _

Yuzuru could distantly hear as he called for Noriko and talked to her for a few seconds before her voice came on the line.

"_Hello, Yuzuru."_

He started. This was definitely Noriko, and she'd used his name right off the bat. He hadn't told it Mamoru. So either he'd guessed who he was, or she had.

"Hello, Noriko. I got your letter." He said, picking it up and scanning it as he waited for a reply.

"_Of course. For what other reason would you call? Or even know this number? I warned Mamoru you might be calling. I don't think he completely realized it was you, though."_

Her voice held a certain amount of coldness, and he cold tell that she was trying not to let her feelings show in her voice. She was failing. It finally dawned on him that she _didn't _want him to have anything to do with her son. That it was _Mamoru _who requested that he get in touch with his father. He had to admit, he'd somewhat thought that this was all Noriko's doing. In reality, it seemed that she was playing a similar role to Yuzuru's mother. Unwilling, but doing it anyway. Noriko was doing this purely for the sake of her son. With this knowledge, Yuzuru softened up.

"So he wanted to meet me, did he?" He asked quietly.

"_Yes. Though he already knows I don't like you."_

Yuzuru couldn't help but smile slightly at the shortness of this statement. "And you're sure he's mine?" He asked, finally asking the most prominent, and potentially dangerous, question.

"_Of course! You think I would lie about that? How dare you! Of course Shinobu was the first person the DNA test was done on when Mamoru was born. Mamoru wasn't his, and that's why he left me! I didn't cheat on you with anyone else, Yuzuru!"_

She exploded with fury. He could hear a loud bang. She'd punched the wall or a table or something. She'd always had a fierce temper. But now he knew the answer to one of the most important questions.

"I understand. I'm sorry if I insulted you. It's just something I had to be sure about." He said calmly, trying to stem the rage he could practically feel emitting from the phone. "Where are you living anyways?"

"_Hokkaido, you dumb jerk. We're in Hokkaido. And we're NOT coming to you. You want to meet Mamoru, you're coming to us. I'm not moving an inch for you sake, no matter how much Mamoru wants to meet you. Though don't get me wrong, I love that child dearly. My affections do not extend to you, no matter how much of your DNA he happens to have."_

"Alright, alright. Calm down, Noriko. Can't we discuss this calmly?" He felt vaguely disappointed. Things would be much more difficult if Noriko was going to be uncooperative. Her feelings might affect her son's opinion, if they hadn't already. "We should make plans then, shouldn't we? Tamaki wants to come as well."

"_I still don't approve of this."_

"You don't have to. This is for your son's sake, isn't it?"

"…_Fine. But there are many words I can call you that are more colourful than 'jerk'."_

He chuckled. "As I'm well aware. Now, what works for you?"

* * *

**Well, it's not nearly as dramatic as I wanted it to be. Apparently I suck at writing drama. Perhaps I should stick to comedy. Ah, well. I like this plot too much to abandon it for that reason. And perhaps I'll improve as I go along. Thank you for reading!**


	4. First Meeting

**Series: Ouran High School Host Club**

**Mangaka: Bisco Hatori**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. No one would believe me even if I claimed to.**

**May contain Spoilers.**

**Some details have been altered for my own convenience.**

**This story is based post-manga.**

Chapter Four: First Meeting

All in all, negotiations with Noriko had gone surprisingly well. She was still cold and snippy throughout the whole thing, but did nothing to hinder the actual process. In some respects, she actually tried quite hard to get things to work, despite her obvious hope that everyone would change their minds and cancel the whole thing. Through this, Yuzuru was once again able to feel the woman's tremendous love for her son, and her desire to make him happy. How could he stay annoyed with someone whose love for her child and desire to make him happy was so genuine? He just couldn't.

As for what they had arranged, they'd decided at the time that Tamaki and Yuzuru would come over and visit for two weeks in one month's time. Depending on how the initial meeting went, the two of them would stay either with Noriko and Mamoru, or at a hotel. Obviously the option to stay in a hotel was for if things went badly. Or if Noriko became absolutely intolerable. To be honest, Yuzuru didn't like the idea of housing with Noriko one bit. But for his son- _sons- _he would do what he had to. Even put up with a temperamental woman who so obviously hated his guts. After all, Noriko would have to put up with someone she detested in that timeframe as well. Even though that person was himself, they were somewhat in the same boat.

Tamaki's friends had, of course, been very surprised and even a little shell-shocked when they found out about this development. Then again, they reacted with absolute shock to most things they found surprising. They were very supportive of Tamaki's decision to meet his brother, and did their best to help him and calm him down whenever he started to get anxious about the meeting. Thus, the month passed. Sometimes the days of waiting seemed to fly past, while the mind was occupied with something else. Other times, every minute felt like an hour, where the ticking of a clock was audible, and the anxiety growing with each tick. And finally, it was time to depart.

The entire former Host Club (although Haruhi, Hikaru, and Kaoru were still at Ouran Academy and continuing the club) gathered at the airport to see Tamaki off, and to request presents from Hokkaido.

"Don't worry," Tamaki's girlfriend Haruhi assured him. "Everything will be fine. Just try hard, do your best, and be yourself. Most times, that's the best thing you can do." She gave him one signature sweet, reassuring smiles which always gave him comfort and made him marvel (and often squeal) about how cute she was.

"Right, right. It's as Haruhi says." Said the twins, Hikaru and Kaoru. Hikaru was still dyeing his hair a dark ash colour, and was leaning on his brother's shoulder, as he so often did. "Haruhi's hardly ever wrong about pretty well anything. You know that."

"Besides," Kaoru chipped in, "If he really wants to meet you guys this bad, I highly doubt he's going to just hate you right off the bat."

"They're right, though it's mostly pointless to keep repeating the same things. Just remember not to embarrass or disgrace yourself too much while you're there. You do enough of that here as it is." Were Kyouya's oh-so-sympathetic words.

"Be brave, Tama-chan!" Honey said encouragingly in his typical childish manner. "And bring me back lots of sweets from Hokkaido!" He added. Of course he had to mention sweets, which were practically as important as air to the short youth.

"Yeah. Be brave." Mori added solemnly to his cousin's encouragement. He talked a little more sometimes as of late, but he clearly felt that it wasn't necessary right now.

"Of course, don't forget the presents!" They all, besides Mori, chorused.

These encouraging words (and requests for presents) added to Tamaki's courage. He gave each of his friend's a hug, sometimes a little teary (or a lot teary. It was his personality, after all), and gave Haruhi as kiss. And with that, he and his father boarded the private jet which would take them to Hokkaido, and Tamaki's waiting brother.

The plane ride was nowhere near as long as the trip from France to Japan had been, but it had still been quite boring, and plagued with worry. Nevertheless, they arrived safely in Hokkaido and stepped into the car that was waiting for them, both of them bracing themselves for the confrontations about to occur.

The car pulled up to a nice, large house on a decent slab of property. It was chilly in Hokkaido this time of year, but not entirely too cold. The garden was very nice. The house wasn't near as large as they'd expected, and was definitely far smaller than the main Suoh Mansion, as well as Suoh Mansion 2, both of which Tamaki was very familiar now. It was neat and well-kept, and there were no signs of disrepair. Yuzuru had heard that Noriko had been estranged from her family some time after her divorce from him, for reasons he had not cared to investigate. He was unsure whether he played any part in the reason, but if he had it would certainly be a contributing factor for Noriko's dislike of him.

They sat in the car for a few moments after their arrival in order to gather their courage, something they'd had to do a lot in the past month, before getting out of the car and starting towards the door. They didn't know what to expect. It was hard to tell a person's personality from a photograph. Some things could be told easily from looking at a picture, but it was impossible to gather the deeper details. That story could only be obtained by meeting the actual person. Something they were about to do.

It was Yuzuru who reached out and gave a decisive knock on the door, and then they waited, sweating, for a response. It didn't take long in coming. They could distantly hear the song of footsteps approaching from inside, and then the door opened. And there he was, the boy from the photo. The person they knew as Mamoru. He really did look just like in the photo, the dark, dark brown eyes, the long curly black hair, and the short stature. He really took after his mother, but he had also without a doubt inherited the Suoh good looks. At that moment, as he opened the door, he was leaning forward slightly and brushing a strand of hair out of his face to tuck behind his ear.

"Ah." He said when he saw them. "Hello."

And then all three froze, none of them having any idea what to say or do now. This was the meeting they'd all been anticipating for such a long time now, and now that it was actually happening, they were at a loss. The silence became awkward. At last, Mamoru cleared his throat.

"Um, come in then." He said, a tad uncertainly. His nerves didn't much show on his face. It seemed he'd also inherited his mother's poker face. That made Yuzuru wonder if he'd also inherited his mother's temper. He hoped not. One lighted fuse was about all he could handle. If he could handle Noriko. They would have to see about that.

Mamoru moved out of the way, and they both stepped inside, courteously removing their shoes. Tamaki had completely clammed up upon seeing his half-brother, and didn't seem to know what to say to the boy. Up close, he could see that the other boy had rather soft features to his face, though the catlike eyes and stubborn set of his jaw indicated that he could be difficult to handle. So far, it was hard to tell entirely what they thought of one another. It would take a little more time before they decided whether they liked one another or not.

The inside of the house was pleasant, though not overly extravagant. It gave off a homely feeling, and it helped them to feel more at ease. "This way. Mother's over in the sitting room. She told me to bring you." Mamoru said, his voice still betraying the whispery hints that Yuzuru had detected the first time he'd heard his voice over the phone. It was pleasant to listen to, though hard to hear since they boy always seemed to speak so softly.

Mamoru led them down a hallway, and they followed obediently. There were some pictures on the wall, some of it just meaningless pictures of parks and cherry trees, and others of Mamoru and what Yuzuru knew and Tamaki guessed to be Noriko. This was when it hit Tamaki for the first time that he'd be meeting his father's ex-wife, someone who may in fact be very displeased with his existence. Tamaki was scared. He wasn't so sure about this anymore. What if the woman hated him? Even if she let the brother's meet and talk to one another, would he really be alright staying in a house with someone who could possibly hate him? He wasn't so sure.

Mamoru seemed to pick up on Tamaki's worry and looked back at him curiously. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Tamaki looked away, feeling shy as well as being afraid to reveal his feelings. He glanced back at Mamoru after a moment, and the dark-haired boy smiled at him, soft and gentle affair that helped to soothe Tamaki's frazzled nerves. He beamed back, delighted at both the acknowledgment and the pleasant interaction. He seemed like a good person! Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Yuzuru watched the small interaction between the two boys with some relief. Mamoru exhibited a very gentle aura when dealing with Tamaki, so maybe the two of them would get along well. He hoped so. He knew Tamaki would be delighted with having a sibling, particularly one he could get along with. Yet that still left Noriko, and Yuzuru was worried about that. He knew how cold the woman could be, and he wasn't certain yet of her power over her own son. In a few short moments, he would be seeing Noriko again for the first time in nineteen years. He wasn't entirely certain he was ready.

* * *

**Here is the fourth chapter of Tough Decisions. Thank you for reading this far. At the moment, this story has no reviews. I would like some, as I have ventured out of my usual writing style in order to write this, and I would like to know what you guys think of it. Do you like it, or does it compelely turn you off? Is the story line good? Is there anything I can improve on for the next chapter? How's the chapter length? Please let me know! I love to hear from you!**


	5. Tentative Conversation

The living room was like the rest of what they'd seen of the house so far – homely, yet neat and impeccably clean. It was definitely a home, where people were meant to live and feel comfortable. Some of the 'homes' Tamaki had visited weren't like that. They were designed for appearance and functionality, and weren't meant to make the residents comfortable or display anything personal. The feel in Mamoru's home reminded him somewhat of Haruhi's apartment, though on a larger scale of course. It was functional, yes, but it was also warm and welcoming. And that did a lot to ease the anxiety in his heart.

Blue seemed to be the colour scheme in the room, with the couches being plush, and a dark blue. The carpet was a blue-teal colour, and the walls were white, so as to not make the blue overwhelming. And on one of the couches on the far side of the room, near a window with sheer, airy curtains, sat Noriko Suoh.

She was curled up, leaning against the arm with her feet tucked up next to her. Her elbow was rested on the arm of the couch, and she was using it to support her head as she read her book. The woman looked just as she had in all the photos. Short and slim, with slender shoulders and hips and flowing, curly black hair, which was currently pulled back with a butterfly clip at the nape of her neck. A few strands hung loose, framing her face and her brown eyes, which were just a shade lighter than her son's.

"Mom, they're here." Mamoru said, just as Yuzuru and Tamaki began to feel anxious again. The sight of the woman was a reminder that not everyone welcomed their presence. Mamoru so far had been polite, if nothing else, but they had no idea how his mother would react to them. She was, after all, a woman scorned. Abandoned by her husband for another woman and their illegitimate child, left to rear her own child on her own. If things were going to go sour, now would be the moment.

Noriko glanced up, her eyes landing on them without much interest. They settled on Mamoru first, and for a moment a brief smile graced her lips before she moved on to Yuzuru, and the smile immediately changed to a frown. She didn't look at Tamaki.

With a sigh, she closed the book in her lamp, placing it gently down on a small table conveniently located next to the couch. Then she stood up, brushing imaginary dust off of her ankle-length skirt, and moved over to them.

"Hello." She said stiffly, holding out her hand for Yuzuru to shake. "And welcome, I suppose." She added after a brief glance toward her son. Once again Yuzuru felt the effort that she was putting in to make this happen, all the emotional turmoil that she was trying to shove behind her for her son's sake. Certainly not for his, from the way she was trying not to glare at him.

Taking her hand, he shook it as though she were a business partner, not someone that he'd once been married to. Oddly, this seemed to reassure her. Now she knew that she wasn't the only one who was uncomfortable with this, and she didn't have to be quite so stiff about it.

"Thank you, Noriko." He said politely, releasing her hand and letting his own fall back to his side. After that, he was at a loss for what to say. And he'd thought about it. For the whole last month, he'd thought about it. He'd written it down, rehearsed it in the mirror, practised the facial expressions and everything, the things he was going to say to Noriko when they met. Now it had all gone flying out of his head, and for the life of him he couldn't remember a word of it. For a prominent businessman accustomed to making polite small talk with associates and business partners, this was an uncomfortable position to be in.

Thankfully, Noriko had moved on to Tamaki while he was busy gathering his thoughts. As he watched them shake hands and introduce themselves, he noted with some pain that Noriko avoided Tamaki's gaze, and that she was even stiffer with him than she'd been with Yuzuru. So she disliked him so much that she couldn't even bear to look at him? That upset him, though he did his best not to show it. He didn't want Tamaki to be held accountable, or even partially accountable, for his past misdeeds.

After their greetings and introductions, the four of them stood where they were, none of them looking at each other except for the occasional glance. After announcing them to his mother, Mamoru had fallen completely silent, and was now glancing between the other three with something that looked like apprehension in his eyes. Every now and then, when his gaze landed on Tamaki, their eyes would meet and the dark-haired boy's lips would twitch upwards slightly, before he'd quickly move on. So it seemed that, no matter how his mother felt, Mamoru seemed to be fine with having Tamaki here. In fact, he seemed much more comfortable with Tamaki than he did with Yuzuru, since he wouldn't meet his eyes at all.

After long, silent minutes passed with all of them still standing there, Mamoru fidgeted slightly and cleared his throat again. "Um, Mom, should we go sit down...?" He asked, sounding uncertain as he eyed his mother, her unwavering was gaze pointed stoutly down the hallway, determined not to look at any of them. Her gaze did turn to him when he spoke, and after a moment, she nodded. Without a word, she turned on her heel and walked stiffly toward the couch that she'd been occupying when they entered. Just as stiffly, she sat, and indicated that she wanted Mamoru to sit next to her by patting the cushion beside her while staring at him.

Obeying his mother's silent command, Mamoru looked back at them and said "You can sit wherever you like," in a soft, tentative voice. Both men nodded mutely and sat, much like Noriko had, stiffly on the couch across from them. More silence. It seemed to be more than Mamoru could bear, since his glances around at each of their faces had grown more rapid, and finally he jumped to his feet again. "I'll go make tea." He said, and scuttled out of the room before any of them had a chance to reply.

They all watched him go, and after he didn't come back for a moment, Yuzuru turned his gaze back to the woman sitting across the room. What he saw startled him. The proud, temperamental woman that he'd married upon his mother's order was glaring at the door, looking quite like a child who had just been betrayed by someone trusted and left to fend for herself. In a way, she had, except for the part about being a child.

"So, Yuzuru," she said suddenly, turning to him while smiling like her teeth hurt. Evidently she'd decided that it was time to make some polite conversation, no matter how awkward it would be. It was better than the heavy silence that filled the room. "What have you been up to lately?"

For a moment, he didn't answer. He wasn't sure what he could say. Most of what he'd been up to lately had been settling into his new role as the president of his family's company, the position which had been held by his mother until he'd booted her from it last year.

"Oh, nothing, really. Getting used to my position, mostly." He said uncomfortably, glancing toward the door and wishing that Mamoru would come back with the tea so that he could have something to distract himself with. If the boy even intended to come back. For all he knew, he could have decided that things were too awkward for him and made a run for it. He hoped that wasn't the case, since he didn't want to have gone through all of this awkwardness and anxiety for nothing.

"Ah, I see." She said, then lapsed into silence. "Well, then, what about you, Tamaki?" She asked, addressing him for the first time since she'd had to introduce herself. He looked startled, but smiled nervously back at her.

"I've started at university." He said, thanking his lucky stars that he at least had something to talk about. "I studied for a year in Boston, because my girlfriend went on an exchange there. It was very interesting."

"I see." She said, clearly relieved that she had gotten at least one of them talking. "How is Boston? I don't believe I've ever been there."

"It was nice. I wasn't expecting my friends to tag along though, though I really should have. It's exactly the type of thing that they'd do."

"Oh?"

As they continued to talk, Yuzuru could feel them slowly starting to warm up to each other, which was a great relief to him. At least they weren't talking to each other like mechanical dolls, stiffly and without emotion.

Just then Mamoru returned with the tea, looking embarrassed for having taken so long. He seemed to sense that the atmosphere in the room had lightened, and actually smiled in relief as he handed the cups out. He set down sugar and cream on the table as well, in case they wanted it. Then he sat next to his mother again, not knowing what to say, but knowing that things weren't as unfriendly as they'd been before.

"We were just discussing Tamaki's exchange trip to Boston last year." Noriko explained to him, while Tamaki had fallen silent at the reappearance of his half-brother.

"Oh." Mamoru replied simply, swirling a spoon around in his tea, though as far as Yuzuru was aware, he had yet to put anything in it. "I've never been to Boston. But I've been to Alberta. Alberta is nice." And then he nodded to himself, as though in confirmation.

"Ah, really? What's Alberta like?" Tamaki said, pouncing on anything he could to bond with his newly-discovered brother.

"Well, it depends on where you are." Mamoru replied thoughtfully, now tapping his spoon absently against his finger. Yuzuru wondered if he was even going to drink his tea. He seemed much more interested in playing with it. "I mean, if you're on the western side, then there's mountains, but the eastern side is really flat." He explained, putting both the tea and the cup down. "But Saskatchewan is completely flat. You can see for miles, if there aren't any houses in the way." He added.

"How about you show them to their rooms?" Noriko interrupted. Things seemed to be going well, so it appeared that they'd be staying at their house rather than at a hotel. Yuzuru just hoped that this wouldn't come back to bite them later.

"Ah, okay." Mamoru said, not seeming to mind the interruption. "This way." He stood up, and Yuzuru and Tamaki followed suit, trailing behind him as he went out into the hallway again. After walking for a while, they took a right and wound up at a stairwell. At the top of the stairs, Mamoru opened a door on the right. "Tamaki, you'll be in here." He said quietly, stepping aside so that the blond could enter.

"Ah, thank you." Tamaki said, stepping into the room. It had followed the same trend as the rest of the house, comfortable and well-kept. He wouldn't mind staying there.

"You'll be across the hall." Mamoru said, something flickering in his expression as he turned to Yuzuru. Suddenly, it struck the man that Mamoru didn't know what to call him. Calling him 'dad' would be too sudden, having just met him, and calling him 'Yuzuru' would be too impersonal for a father-son relationship. So it seemed that they'd have to progress slowly.

"So, I guess I'll leave you to unpack. Do you need any help bringing the bags in?" Mamoru asked, hovering anxiously in the middle of the hallway, glancing back and forth while Tamaki and Yuzuru admired the rooms they'd be staying in.

"No thank you, Mamoru. I think we'll be fine." Yuzuru said, smiling at him.

"Okay. I'll be down the hall if you need anything. Mom will be... Wherever she decides to hide." Mamoru said, giving a crooked little smile before wandering off.

* * *

**Sort of a long, boring chapter where nothing really happens, and I apologize for that. But I wasn't really sure what to do here, so this is mostly a filler. I'll try to liven things up a bit in the next chapter. And sorry for the long gap between updates. I lost the notebook that I was writing this in, and that upset me enough to make me temporarily abandon it for a while. Thank you to the two people who reviewed, your input is much appreciated.**


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